


actually, I don't have a daughter

by mikararinna



Series: cookie crush chaos [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Falling In Love, M/M, Misunderstandings, Secret Crush, Single Parents, THE FIC, Ten being a mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:47:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25154932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikararinna/pseuds/mikararinna
Summary: "Look, I'm a single gay man in my 30s who's probably desperate for love. When a hot male with fluffy brown hair suddenly talked to me about his babies after I ranted about my sweet, sweet baby TongTong I didn't expect him to be a single father of two!"Ten had been lonely for far too long, he guessed. It would make sense for a lot of things happening around him like having a crush on his downstairs neighbour. He didn't expect their relationship to progress however with Kun thinking he was a single father of one. There was definitely something not right going on here.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun, Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Nakamoto Yuta
Series: cookie crush chaos [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1822264
Comments: 13
Kudos: 253





	actually, I don't have a daughter

**Author's Note:**

> i think my brain was just fried and cant think of how to continue after where i ended this. there's more to this universe than this fic could offer and I'll get back to it again when my brain stop going bzzt. its been in my draft since last year, might as well release it before i pull at my hair again.
> 
> enjoy <3

"So let me get this straight," Renjun said, sitting cross-legged in the studio. Like this it kind of felt as if Renjun was the adult and Ten was the 15-year-old, who happened to have a crush on the handsome male who owned the bakery downstairs. 

"You were ranting about TongTong to Kun gē and he listened to you diligently before proceeding to rant to you about his babies – which you thought were cats," 

"Dogs, maybe," Ten cut him off. "Or turtles. Perhaps a hamster." 

Renjun rolled his eyes but continued, "So you thought the babies he mentioned were his pets. And you didn't, for once, thought that it could be actual children?" 

"Look, I'm a single gay man in my 30s who's probably desperate for love. When a hot male with fluffy brown hair suddenly talked to me about his babies after I ranted about my sweet, sweet baby TongTong I didn't expect him to be a single father of two!" Ten sighed out. 

"You're an idiot, uncle." Renjun said, shaking his head as he stared at him. 

"You know if you weren't Sicheng's son and my favourite nephew I would have killed you the day we met," Ten said, throwing an empty water bottle at Renjun. 

It was harmless and Ten wouldn't be sleeping with his eyes wide open tonight to the thought of Yuta at the corner of his room ready to murder him because he touched his son in a violent way. Then again, Yuta was the more protective one over the two. He wouldn't even let Renjun eat his soup hot because it would burn his tongue and Yuta didn't want him to go through the pain. 

"I'm your only nephew," Renjun pointed out. 

"No you're not, I have Hendery." Ten said because he was fond of that young male who only came to tease Ten about his crush on Kun. 

But Ten didn't mind. It was hard to hate Hendery anyways. All bright eyes and kind smiles. It was a pity Hendery wasn't really related to him in any form of blood or document. He would love to adopt him but he was sure Hendery's parents were against that. It was a miracle they even let him join Ten's dance classes. 

"Hendery isn't even your nephew!" Renjun exclaimed. 

"He's my godson or whatever," Ten said standing up and walking over to where Renjun sat. He teasingly pinched the other's nose. "While you are a little mischief." 

Renjun swatted his hand away. "I learnt it from you, old man." He said, sticking out his tongue and removing himself from the floor. "Also I'm gonna tell Bàba you're having a crush on Kun gē from downstairs." 

"Why is it that you call him, a single father with two sons 'gē' but proceed to call me, a very hot male in his 30s 'uncle'? What would that do to my reputation?" Ten asked him as they switched off the lights in the studio and locked up. 

"What reputation? You already don't have one the moment you met Kun gē," Renjun said, skipping down the stairs. 

Ten sighed. "I think I've channelled too much of my chaotic energy to you. What would Sicheng say?" 

"Nothing. And so does Otou-san. They think I'm an angel no matter what I do." Renjun said and jumped over the last step to the ground. 

He was getting the hang of it, balanced and calm. When Ten first took him under his wings for dance classes, Renjun had been this shy boy who tripped over his two legs and mixed up his dance steps. But that was years ago when he was only 10. Now he was 14 and he was poised and graceful with his movements. Ten had never been prouder of his nephew. He adored the other even though they weren't blood related and Sicheng was actually his cousin, not brother. But they were still family and Ten wanted to see his nephew shine more rather than be shield away in the spotlight of his dance studio. 

"You should enter a dance competition," Ten told him as they walked to the back where Ten parked his car. 

"And you should tell Kun gē the truth plus your feelings for him." Renjun countered as he slipped into the passenger seat and Ten started up his car. 

Ten sighed, changing the gears and pulling out of the parking lot. "You know I'm too scared to do that right?" 

"And that's how I feel about dance competitions." Renjun said with finality. 

Ten hummed, not saying anything more. They've been in this position before; Ten asking Renjun to join a dance competition and his nephew absolutely refusing it in order to avoid embarrassing himself. He knew Renjun was an exceptional dancer and such a thing wouldn't happen. But he also knew he shouldn't force him to do something he didn't want to. And so Ten drove his car in silence, dropping Renjun at his house before driving to his own apartment two blocks down. In his mind, he kept thinking about a certain single father who owned the bakery below his studio. 

  
  
  


It started like this. 

Ten graduated college with a degree in Performing Arts, specifically, Dancing. 

And that was it. 

After he graduated college Ten wasn't sure what he wanted to do. He could dance and he had a qualification, but that was almost it. For a few months he did odd jobs, went on interviews and basically went into numerous life crises until he finally sat himself down and told himself he needed to have a proper job that was worth his qualification. 

So Ten decided to open a dance studio because he had never received that call back from the dance studios he interviewed for. 

With every last bit of money he collected from doing odd jobs, Ten rented a small space on the second floor of a building. He was lucky his parents were supportive of him and funded his studio a little bit. Then he started working. 

His cousin, Sicheng helped him here and there, dance being his hobby and something he minor in back in college. There were rough times. For the first few months Ten had to build himself back from scratch, start anew. Posters were up, flyers were given, anything to attract customers. There were a few mental breakdowns through it all but luck never seemed to stray away from Ten's side, which Ten was eternally grateful for. He had known a lot of people and those people helped him in building up his studio. 

In a year, he managed to score three full dance classes. Two years later, when the lease for the reflexology centre above him was done, he rented the place next, expanding his studio. 

Years went by; Sicheng married his college sweetheart, Yuta and Ten was there as their best man. A year later, they adopted a 6-year-old Renjun and Ten met his nephew who, even though he wouldn't say it out loud, he loves with all of his heart and would kick just anyone who messed with him. And throughout those years, Ten's studio increasingly changed as did his life and surroundings. 

The shop below him especially changed a lot. When he first established his studio it was owned by an old couple selling candy. After that it was a laundromat, then a stationary shop and later a convenience store. 

Ten didn't pay it much attention as he took the stairs to his studio. He wasn't too friendly with the owners of those shops but he wasn't too detached from them either. It was enough that they greet each other when they meet. They weren't up each other's business and Ten was more than happy for that. 

It wasn't until a year before, after the locksmith closed down and the shop below was renovating yet again for a new owner. Ten didn't mind much as he climbed the stairs to his studio. The renovation sign didn't warrant for his concern when he had seen owners come and go; lease contracts signed and expired. It was a month after, when the renovation was finally done. Ten was busy teaching a class, counting the steps as he went when the bell he placed on the front door - reserved for when he was in class and wasn't at the little lounge at front - rang. 

He dismissed his class with a 5 minute break before heading over to the front door. He was met with a male, probably not older than he was, Chinese, maybe 5'7" with a bright smile that showed his dimples and fluffy brown hair - definitely dyed - holding a jar of cookies at him. Ten's immediate thought was 'what a handsome male' which he possibly had said out loud because the male laughed and blushed which in turn made Ten blush harder. 

"My name is Kun, Qian Kun," The male introduced himself in fluent Korean. "I'm the owner of the bakery downstairs. I hope we can get along well, neighbour." 

It took Ten a while to process Kun's words and the language - he spoke five languages okay? You couldn't blame him that the translating part of his brain malfunctioned especially when he saw such a handsome male. It took another second for him to decide which name to introduce himself in front of Kun - he had three; Mandarin, Thai and his nickname he was most comfortable with using. You still couldn't blame him when he pondered about this for too long. Things like this always happen to him in the least expected moment. 

"I'm Ten," He decided because he was very comfortable with using his nickname more than anything else. "I hope we can get along well too." 

With a handsome neighbour like this? Ten would be doomed if he didn't get along with Kun. 

Kun smiled, handing him over the jar he was holding. "A meeting gift. I hope you like it. I didn't know you had a class, I would have brought more." 

"Oh it's fine. Those kids in there will leave you bankrupt before you even start your business. I'll keep this to myself." Ten answered. 

Kun laughed again and it sounded like small bells on a winter day. Ten didn't know what they meant. He was a Dance major not a Literature graduate. 

"I have to go now. It was nice meeting you. See you around, Ten!" Kun said before he excused himself downstairs. 

Ten was never one to simply harbour a crush on someone on the first meeting. But it was in the way Kun carried himself, the way he said Ten's name and the kindness just exuding from him that made Ten's heart burn. And if he finished the entire jar of cookies in one night, completely discarding the diet he was on, then it was for Ten to know. 

After that it had been relatively normal. Ten continued with his classes and Kun started his business. 

Somehow it felt as if Kun belonged here, a bakery under Ten's dance studio that had been running for way longer than a few months. Kun's bakery was always full no matter the time of day. People stopping by for a quick breakfast, orders of cakes and even a small hangout for the students. Kun's bakery - named Qian's Breadstory - was a people centre and Ten couldn't complain about it. Because booming business for Kun meant a lot more people would acknowledge his dance studio. It was a win-win situation. 

What bothered Ten though, was the owner himself. Qian Kun was a mystery, and that said a lot considering that Ten existed and he was always walking with his flamboyantly mysterious attitude. But Qian Kun, he was different. 

He was friendly. Ten could see that in the way he spoke to old ladies and the familiarity he got from the college students. He was friendly but he also didn't talk much. Attention was directed to the people he was talking to, never to himself. Ten noticed that in the few times he visited the bakery. To get a quick breakfast, mind you, and not to stare at the way Kun looked good in an apron with his radiant smile. They didn't talk much and Ten was grateful because if they did, Ten didn't know what kind of embarrassing thing would spout out of his mouth. But Kun acknowledged Ten's presence, leaving an extra cookie with his coffee and Ten's heart fluttered.

It was a year after Kun moved in downstairs. They were still on friendly terms and something within Ten itched to change that. But he knew he couldn't just walk in Kun's bakery and demanded a date. Ten was too cowardly for that. So instead he visited Kun's bakery in the morning and whenever he had time. It went on for a few weeks, Kun welcomed his presence and Ten was more than happy to indulge in Kun's freshly baked bread. 

One day though, one particular morning Ten had entered Kun's bakery, disheveled and tired. Kun took a quick glance before heading back and handing him a cup of hot Americano. Ten paid for it as he thanked him. 

"I don't mean to pry into your business, but is everything okay?" Kun asked worriedly. There weren't a lot of customers and Kun's workers were there to handle them. 

"Yeah, I just," Ten sighed, taking a sip of his drink and pushing his hair back. "My baby's been up all night. She's puking a lot and I'm worried. I took her to the clinic already though. Just a minor allergy." 

"Oh," Kun said and he sounded surprised that made Ten wonder why. "I get that. My sons worry me a lot too these days. Not eating much, always so tired. Raising them up on my own has been tough as it is."

Ten nodded his head. His lovely cat, TongTong, a Siamese cat that he picked up from shelter was always a healthy baby. It gave him a heart attack last night when he went home and TongTong vomited all over his shirt. Ten had to call Sicheng, tears running down his eyes as he drove TongTong to the veterinarian. He was so tired from driving around last night and went home cradling TongTong as he slept. 

He only understood a semblance of how much Kun was going through. Two male breeds, not eating and just constantly tired. TongTong was lazy but she played well every day and ate even better. Ten didn't have to worry much about her until last night. 

"Maybe they've been playing a lot. It still doesn't make sense why they wouldn't eat though. You should bring them to the clinic." Ten told him. 

"Yeah. Hey, we should maybe arrange a playdate for my sons and your daughter. She might be too young for my two rowdy boys but I promise you, they would adore her. They love toddlers." 

Ten arched an eyebrow. "Playdate?" 

There was something wrong with how Kun said toddlers. Sure he called TongTong his baby but weren't toddler usually reserved for humans? TongTong was a cat and her younger form would've been a kitten. Why did Kun say toddler?

"Yup," Kun answered easily. "I have to see when my sons are free from their school's extracurricular activities though." 

"School?" Ten asked. Okay, now he was fully alert. There must be something wrong here. 

"Yeah," Kun drawled out. "Yangyang's 14 and Chenle's only 11, they used to come here and play around, but the school has been making them stay back for so long." 

Ten blinked. Animals didn't go to school. They went to pet playgrounds and pet parks but they didn't go to school. It took another sip from his Americano that made Ten realize there was clearly a misunderstanding here. 

Kun was talking about his sons, who clearly weren't furry pets that scratched his couch and left fur all over the carpet. He was talking about his sons. Actual sons. Children, pre-teens who could walk and talk and went to school. Oh, oh there was clearly a big misunderstanding here. 

"So, about that playdate, what do you think?" Kun asked, looking at him with a big smile. 

The clearest option here was of course to explain to Kun that the baby he was talking about wasn't actually a baby but his cat, TongTong. Though as Ten looked at Kun's dimple smile, it was hard for him to tell the truth. This was an opportunity. He could get close to Kun in the pretense of him having a child and finally tend to his overwhelming crush on Kun since last year. Plus points were that Ten didn't hate children. He basically raised Renjun and was patient enough with all his tantrums. He didn't think it was hard to get along with Kun's children. 

The rush hour was here, customers flooding in. Kun's eyes flickered, seeing how busy his bakery was getting. Ten noticed too and he smiled at the other. 

"Let's discuss this another time? I'm always upstairs. Whenever our schedules clear up we can work on it," Ten told him. 

Kun nodded his head. "That sounds good to me. I'm sorry but I have to get back to work." 

Ten waved him off. "It's okay. I have to open up the studio too. See you around, Kun." 

So that was how Ten climbed up the stairs twice as fast to open up his studio. Renjun had found him curled up in a corner of the practice room, having a mental breakdown. And Ten, being the rational adult he was, proceeded to spill out everything to his 14-year-old nephew who, in retrospect probably shouldn't get involved in adult matters. But hey, Ten was smart like that. That was how he got into a mess of a promise for a playdate after all when in reality he didn't have a child. He was so fucked. 

  
  
  


The morning after Ten told Renjun about Kun, the crush and the playdate, Sicheng showed up at his studio. Sicheng hadn't been to his studio in a while, always busy with his work. Even if he did come it was always to drop Renjun off. Seeing that Renjun wasn't by his side there were only two possible reasons on why he was here.

One, Renjun, as the good son he was, told Sicheng, Ten's cousin about Kun, the crush and the playdate. Two, Sicheng was just here to say hi and leave. The latter was possible but the former was more likely. 

Sicheng sprawled out in the practice room, Ten watching him. He always had a good figure, Ten thought. If Sicheng wasn't a boring accountant now he would've graduated with a major in dancing and became a dance teacher like Ten. But Sicheng's parents were a lot more strict unlike Ten's parents. He was lucky he got to minor in dance and marry a male while living in the typical Asian family trope. 

"So I heard from Renjun," Sicheng started, stretching out his limbs. 

"You and I both know that behind that angel face is a devil. You can never believe what Renjun ever says," Ten said, already starting to stretch out himself.

"I know. But he's my son and as his father I will always trust my son's words." Sicheng said now doing light warm-ups. "Anyways, Renjun told me you have a crush on the owner of the bakery downstairs and you've agreed to a playdate with his sons except you're unmarried and childless." 

"Don't you have a job to get to?" Ten blurted out instead, trying to get the attention away from him. 

"It's a Saturday. My office is closed on weekends, remember?" Sicheng told him and Ten almost forgot that he now owned a dance studio which was open at different timings than regular offices. "And stop deflecting my questions." 

Ten sighed. "What is there to say? What do you want me to say?" 

"That you're dumb," Sicheng deadpanned and Ten was so used to his cousin's blunt words that he didn't mind. "You're childless, Ten. The only thing closest to being your son is my son but even Renjun wouldn't convince the bakery owner that he's your son. You're teetering on dangerous lines here, Ten." 

"Look, in my defense I thought he was talking about his pets okay? And I was talking about TongTong. I didn't expect him to think I was a single father with a daughter. Also, the bakery owner's name is Kun, Qian Kun." Ten replied. 

Sicheng didn't know about Kun. He rarely visited Ten's studio now and they usually met up at his apartment. Ten had mentioned Kun in passing, about the bakery that moved downstairs. But that was it. Which explained why Sicheng didn't know him or his name. Until Renjun. 

"Just because you talk about TongTong like she is your firstborn-" 

"She is my firstborn," Ten hissed, cutting Sicheng off. 

Sicheng rolled his eyes. "Yes, okay. But just because you call her your baby, your daughter, the pumpky-umky-yumkin of your life doesn't mean everyone else does." 

"Every pet owner does," Ten countered. 

"Yes, but how many pet owners out there that you have a crush on knows you're talking about your pet and not your child? Look Ten, if I didn't know you and by the way you refer to TongTong, I would've thought she was your daughter as well and not a cat. Even Yuta thought TongTong was human at first," Sicheng sighed out.

"And maybe it's Kun's fault as well for not clarifying with you but there's only two ways for this. You either tell Kun the truth and live through the shame or lie straight to his face." 

He hated how rational Sicheng was right now. Of course, he should tell Kun the truth and live through the shame. But there was that tempting thought in his mind that wanted to get close with Kun. There were other ways but this was an opportunity. It would be a shame if Ten didn't take this opportunity even if it meant that he had to lie right in front of Qian Kun's handsome face. 

There was the ringing of a bell from the studio's front door. His students usually just enter the studio and head straight to the practice room. If anyone rang the bell there could only be two people; a new client or Kun. 

Ten left the practice room, Sicheng already at the sound system to start the music. When he walked into the lounge he found Kun standing there in the casual clothing he usually wore. Ten's heart skipped a beat but he suppressed any wild thoughts to greet Kun. 

"Hey, what brings you up here?" Ten asked him. 

"Hi. Sorry I came unannounced. This might be a little rush but I was thinking about what we said yesterday, about the playdate thing." Kun said and Ten's heart dropped. 

"Oh." He mumbled. "What about it?" 

"I know your studio is open almost everyday and it might be hard for you to fit this playdate into your schedule but I was wondering if Sunday would be good? My boys don't have anything going on on Sundays and I can leave my bakery to my workers," Kun said. 

"This Sunday, as in, tomorrow?" Ten stuttered. He didn't expect it to be so soon. 

"Ah no, that would be in such a short notice right? How about next Sunday? So we can figure out where to go and all," Kun suggested. 

There was something in the way Kun's eyes twinkled with excitement. He had never seen Kun's sons, never even heard of them before and never knew he was a father of two until yesterday. Ten should really tell him the truth but Ten had always been selfish and so instead he smiled. 

"Sure, next Sunday sounds good," He told Kun. 

The other beamed and they exchanged numbers. Kun promised to text him the details as he left. Ten could feel a pair of eyes judging him. He turned to see Sicheng leaning against the doorway, visibly judging him like he would. 

"Do you think I can borrow Renjun for a day? Preferably next Sunday," Ten asked him. 

Sicheng sighed, shaking his head. "You're a mess, Ten." 

  
  
  


Next Sunday came way earlier than Ten expected. He woke up in the morning and drove to the Nakamoto-Dong household to fetch Renjun. Sicheng had given him the judging eyes the entire time he was there while Yuta had only smiled and told Renjun to have fun. He guessed that neither Renjun nor Sicheng have told Yuta about the situation he was in. He was glad, one less person to judge him for his life choices. 

He brought Renjun to a small diner for breakfast and to set some ground rules. Renjun would still be his nephew and not the son he adopted in front of Kun. He decided that he shouldn't lie to the other any more. By the end of the day Ten planned to tell him the truth. Renjun agreed with his plans and Ten guessed it wouldn't be so bad. 

Ten drove them to the large park located somewhere between his apartment and his studio. Which made him conclude that Kun lived nearby. They decided through text to meet up here in the late morning; Ten had classes in the evening so now would be the only free time he had. It was easy to make plans with Kun and they were both understanding of their weird schedules.

He walked into the park with Renjun after he parked his car at the provided lots. Renjun was babbling to him about his week and Ten listened diligently. He wanted to ask Renjun about joining a dance competition again, there was one about to be held at the shopping mall near the studio but he kept his mouth shut. Maybe now was not the time. 

"Renjun?" Ten snapped out of his thoughts when someone called out to Renjun as they neared a big oak tree where Kun said he would be. 

That someone was a young boy, probably around Renjun's age. "Yangyang?" Renjun said and Ten guessed he knew the other boy. 

"Ten, hi!" Ten looked up and saw Kun smiling at him. His arm was slung over this Yangyang kid's shoulder. So this was Kun's son, huh? Definitely not a pet. 

"Who's this?" Yangyang asked Renjun as he pointed at Ten. "Isn't your dad Uncle Sicheng? And the other one's Japanese." 

Oh great. Of course Renjun knew Kun's son. He just dug deeper into his own grave. 

"Yeah, this is-" 

"I'm Ten," Ten cut him off and smiled at Yangyang. "Renjun's my nephew." 

"Your nephew?" Kun asked. And Ten knew what that underlying tone meant. It was borderline accusing mixed with plain curiosity. 

"Yeah, my, um, daughter is sick," Ten said. 

Which wasn't really a lie. His beautiful, furry daughter, TongTong was still down with that allergy she had from a week ago. Ten just fed her the prescribed medicine before he left the house earlier. 

"Oh," Kun said, eyes wide and sounding surprised. "Is she okay? We could've cancel today if she was really unwell," 

Renjun snorted and if Ten wasn't clearly melting over Kun's concern despite him still not knowing that the daughter Ten was talking about was a cat then he would've kicked his nephew. Instead, Ten gave Kun a thin-lipped smile. He promised to tell Kun the truth later today and he would but he still felt bad to have lied for this long. 

"It's okay. I didn't want to cancel after I saw how excited you were for this. So I brought Renjun instead, if that's okay with you?" Ten said. 

Kun smiled. "It's okay with me. Yangyang seems to know your nephew. Oh, this is Yangyang by the way, my eldest," He said, gesturing towards Yangyang. 

Yangyang didn't have any of Kun's features, not the prominent ones at least. He did have Kun's fluffy brown hair though but even his cat could tell it was clearly dyed. Ten himself had gone through a rainbow hair phase. Which made him conclude that Kun's sons weren't really his. Adopted, maybe?

"And this, is Chenle," Kun said, gesturing towards a boy who was hiding behind him. 

Ten hadn't noticed the boy before. He was smaller and shorter in stature but still no similar features to Kun. He seemed shy and timid, Ten had seen the look in his eyes before though. Renjun was shy and timid when they first met too. But that had quickly changed in a span of a week, the boy's eyes glinting with mischief as he pulled another prank on Ten.

"He's a bit shy," Kun said but there was fondness in the way he said it as he pushed back Chenle's hair gently. 

"Bà, I'm hungry," Yangyang whined from beside Kun. 

"Oh, yes, come on I've set up a picnic mat. I hope you're hungry," Kun said as he guided them to the oak tree. Renjun was now happily chatting with Yangyang in a mixture of Korean and Mandarin, Ten barely understanding their conversation.

"You cooked?" Ten asked, in which Kun hummed softly. "But I didn't bring anything," 

Kun laughed, but it was gentle, not meant to be mean. "It's okay. I mean, we didn't really say anything about a picnic but my boys tend to get very hungry so I prepared a lot for all of us."

Ten watched as Kun plated rice balls on a paper plate. He knew Kun could cook well, the pastries in his bakery were a giveaway – the Qian's traditional homemade recipe as Kun told him before. But to see Kun gently fussing over Yangyang, Chenle and even Renjun let him truly see the fatherly side of Kun, hidden over years old of pastry recipes and the busy bakery underneath his studio. 

"Here, I'm not sure it's that good though," Kun said, handing him a plate with two rice balls. He looked bashful but there was still that tilt of a smile at the corner of his lips. 

Ten scoffed at him as he took the plate. "Anything you make is good, Kun." 

"How are you so sure?" 

"Because you own a successful bakery below my studio, one I've been to one too many times. My taste buds could tell that you're an exceptional baker and possibly an even better cook. Honestly, why are you so perfect, Qian Kun?" 

Kun laughed shyly. "I'm not perfect," He uttered. 

Their late brunch continued as it was. Ten kept an eye on Renjun who was talking animatedly with Yangyang. He knew Renjun had friends in school, his nephew bringing up his group of friends casually in their day-to-day conversation. He was sure he had heard the name Yangyang as one of Renjun's friends in passing. He only hoped that the other didn't spill too much about Ten's predicament currently to Yangyang. 

His eyes fell upon Chenle, Kun's youngest who had been silent this whole time. He didn't join in on Renjun and Yangyang's conversation, preferring to stick by his father's side all these while. 

"Are you okay, Chenle?" Ten asked gently. 

It must be the new people. Ten had problems getting along with people he only met for less than a few hours while growing up. He was shy initially, but grew friendly when he got to know the other party better. Ten guessed it was the same for Chenle. 

"Sorry, he's a bit shy," Kun said, ruffling Chenle's hair affectionately. "And he's still not good in Korean," 

"Oh, he's not?" Ten asked, surprised. Kun spoke fluent Korean, putting Ten who had studied the language since he was in high school to shame. 

Kun shook his head. "We only moved here three or two years ago. Chenle grew up mostly in China," 

"I see," Ten replied. "It's okay, Korean is hard sometimes," he said in fluent Mandarin, surprising Chenle and Kun. "It took me some time to learn the language," 

"You know Mandarin?" Kun asked. 

"Yup. I don't know if you've noticed but my nephew is Chinese," Ten chuckled. "I was born and raised in Thailand but my parents made me learn Mandarin alongside other languages. Didn't want me to forget my roots," 

"How many languages do you know?" Chenle asked, eyes sparkling in interest. 

Ten smiled. "Four, maybe? Thai, English, Korean and Mandarin. My cousin-in-law, Renjun's other father is Japanese, so I had him teach me Japanese back in college. I knew a little bit of Japanese, so I guess five languages?" 

"That's so cool!" Chenle chirped. "Korean is a bit hard for me," 

"It takes time. I'm sure you'll get used to it. Renjun's Korean wasn't as good either when Sicheng adopted him, but he learned and I think he speaks better Korean than I do," Ten commented.

"That's so cool!" Chenle exclaimed. He turned towards Kun and tugged at his sleeves. "Bà, can I have Uncle Ten teaching me other languages too?" 

Kun looked pleasantly surprised at this. He looked over to Ten, in which the other chuckled. 

"Sure, if you do well in learning Korean," Ten chimed in.

"Uncle, there's street performers," Renjun said, gaining Ten's attention. He lifted his head to look at where the commotion was, seeing a group of young male dancing to a practiced routine. 

"Go then," Ten encouraged him. 

Renjun snorted. "No way. You go, you're the dance instructor," 

"You're a dance instructor?" Yangyang asked. 

"Yang, didn't I tell you this?" Kun said to his eldest. 

Yangyang shrugged his shoulders. "I kind of stopped paying attention after you said we're going out with a friend of yours," 

Kun sighed. "Yes, Ten is a dance instructor. He owns the dance studio above our bakery," 

"The one you didn't let me join?" 

Ten looked at Kun in surprise over Yangyang's accusation. Kun smiled apologetically. "It's nothing like that. He already has enough activity at school," he explained. "Plus, I already told him no more extra-curricular activities until he gets his grades up," 

"Yang gē sucks in school," Chenle stage-whispered. 

"I don't!" Yangyang huffed. 

"You kinda do, Yang," Renjun retorted. "Can we go and watch those street performers?" 

"Fine by me, just be careful," Ten reminded them. Yangyang, Renjun and Chenle stood up, walking over to where the street performers were, leaving the two of them behind.

"You're not coming, Bà?" Chenle asked as he looked back at his father. 

"Go on ahead, we'll catch up with you guys later," Kun replied and that was when Ten realized he was finally getting a chance to be alone with Kun. 

"My boys like you," Kun said when they were out of earsight. 

"You think so?" Ten asked. 

"Chenle is shy, he doesn't just talk to anybody. While Yangyang, he's amazed with someone who can dance," 

"Chenle talks to me because I speak Mandarin; Yangyang because I'm a dance instructor," Ten pointed out.

"Not necessarily," Kun said. "Sure, you could speak Mandarin but there's a lot more others that Chenle have met who can speak Mandarin and he never initiated any sort of conversation before like he just did. Yangyang, well I guess he does like you because you're a dance instructor," 

"See?" Ten told him, grinning amusedly. 

"But still, thank you," Kun said. 

"For what?" 

"For agreeing to this playdate. Yangyang's not having a hard time adapting to living here in Seoul, but Chenle, it's been almost three years and yet," Kun sighed.

"It's okay, it takes time to adapt. It took me some time to adapt when I moved here for college," 

"Same thing for me," Kun agreed. "But I'm used to it now, moving to new places," 

Ten nodded his head in understanding. He raised his head to look at where the three young teens were and spotted them amongst the crowd. He looked at Kun who was busy cleaning up the mess his sons had left and Ten couldn't help but sigh. Guessed it was time that he came clean to Kun. 

"Hey Kun?" Kun hummed, raising his head to look at Ten as a sign to continue. Ten sighed again. "Look, I think I should tell you the truth," 

"About what?" Kun asked. 

"I don't really have a daughter," Ten blurted out. "Not- not a human daughter at least. The baby I told you about was actually my cat, TongTong. I call her my daughter because you know, I like calling her that," 

Ten played with the ends of his hair, trying to hide his embarrassment. "I'm sorry to have lied to you. I didn't mean to! Really. I just didn't know how to tell you the truth. I'm sorry, again, if this playdate isn't what you expected," 

Kun looked at him, listening to every word he said carefully. And then, he chuckled. 

"I had a gist actually," Kun said. 

"You did?"

"Well, no parent would leave their baby behind if they were sick," Kun told him. "I kinda guessed that you weren't really a parent, I didn't expect her to be a cat though," 

"Ugh, I'm so sorry, Kun. This is so embarrassing," Ten said, hiding his face in the palm of his hands. 

"Hey, it's okay," Kun said, peeling Ten's hands away from his face. "I know we didn't do much but I actually had fun today. This picnic was quite relaxing with you around and you handle pre-teens really well, don't you?" 

"I helped raise Renjun for my cousin while managing my dance studio. I'm kinda used to children and pre-teens, I guess," Ten mumbled.

"That's cool too. Yangyang and Renjun knew of each other, so at least they had some fun," Kun said. "And my sons, I think they genuinely like you. Safe to say, I didn't mind the outcome of today," 

"So you don't mind that I lie to you?" 

Kun shrugged his shoulders. "It wasn't ill-intentioned. And it was merely a miscommunication between us. No harm done,"

"I still feel sorry," Ten sighed out, his lips then jutting out in a pout. 

"Don't be," Kun said, nudging him on the shoulders. "It was nice to get to see you outside of our work," 

Ten smiled, looking at him. "Do you want to do this again sometime? If you don't mind my company," 

Kun grinned. "Sure, maybe without my sons sometimes," 

  
  
  


"So, you told him the truth and he didn't mind?" Renjun asked when they were back at Ten's studio. 

Ten hummed, walking over to the audio system to set up his playlist. His class of students would come in sooner or later and Ten preferred to be prepared. Renjun was sprawled out on the practice room floor, Sicheng helping him to stretch. Sicheng had come to help Ten open up his studio but Ten knew better that his cousin had come to dig up gossip from the picnic earlier. 

"Not only that but he agreed to a second picnic? And without his sons?" Sicheng asked. 

"Yeah, that's what he said. Before his sons and Renjun came to disrupt us," Ten replied, eyes looking at his nephew accusingly. Renjun smiled sheepishly back at him. 

"He must really like you then, Uncle," Renjun said. 

"He's just being nice," Ten mumbled. 

"How are you so sure that he's just being nice? Maybe he really likes you," Sicheng argued. 

"Well, he's nice in general. He's nice to everyone," Ten sighed out, playing with buttons on the audio system. "He's probably being nice to me,"

Sicheng and Renjun gave each other a look. They sighed in unison. Ten was infamous amongst them to be someone who doubted himself a lot. When he first started up his studio, he doubted the success of it. Sicheng needed to assure him several times that all will be fine. 

It did turn out fine, better than fine actually. It was just the fear of failing that made him this way. Sicheng and Renjun had also witnessed his failing relationships. It was what made Ten stop seeking out for a relationship, instead focusing on his studio. Until Kun appeared, even then Ten would still doubt that Kun wasn't interested in him. 

"If he was being nice, he won't suggest a picnic with just the two of you," Sicheng pointed out. 

"Okay, but what if-" 

The doorbell rang, cutting Ten off. He looked at Sicheng, who stared back at him before he realized he should be greeting whoever it was at the studio lounge. He exited the practice room, all while giving Sicheng a 'we-are-not-done-here' gaze.

Kun was standing there in his studio lounge, smiling ever so brightly. He was still wearing the same outfit that he wore while they were on a picnic, in his hands a jar of cookies. 

"What are you doing here?" Ten asked, walking over to him. 

"Well, I remember you said you like the cookies I gave you when I first opened. So here I am, with another jar of cookies. Freshly baked," Kun said, handing over the jar of cookies. 

"For me?" Ten said, surprised as he took the jar in his hands. 

"All yours," 

"Thank you. You didn't really have to," 

"But I want to," Kun replied. "It's been a year since I moved downstairs and yet we're still in the acquaintances stage," 

"Do you not want to be acquaintances?" 

Kun inhaled. "I was hoping we could be friends, or maybe more if we vibe well," 

"Vibe?" Ten asked, smiling amusedly. 

"It's what the kids nowadays say, isn't it? I keep hearing Yangyang saying that. I don't know if the sentence worked though, I'm not their age to know new slang," 

"You're not that old," Ten pointed out. 

Kun shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe. But I am still a single father in his 30s," he said. "I should get back to the bakery. Catch you around?" 

"Sure thing," 

Ten waved goodbye to Kun as the other headed downstairs to his bakery. He placed the jar of cookie Kun gave on the counter, admiring the way it fitted perfectly with his dance studio. 

"That is the most eye-straining flirting I've ever seen," Renjun chimed in as he walked over to Ten. "But aw, he gave you cookies?" 

"Yup, the one I've been craving for these last few days," Ten replied. 

"And you still think he doesn't have a thing for you?" Sicheng asked him when he entered the lounge.

Ten shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe he does like me a little, as a friend?" 

Sicheng and Renjun sighed, rolling their eyes at Ten. It was going to take a lot to make Ten realize.

  
  
  


"You know you're not allowed here?" Renjun said when he spotted Yangyang entering Ten's studio later in the evening. 

Ten's first group of students had just finished their lesson and was slowly piling out of the studio. While Ten was busy seeing them out, Yangyang had popped in with a mischievous grin. Ten arched an eyebrow at his presence but the other merely shrugged his shoulders. He told Ten that he only came to hang out and Ten had allowed him in. 

"Relax, you don't own this place. Uncle Ten let me in," Yangyang said, rolling his eyes. 

"Since I'm the nephew of the dance instructor and owner of the dance studio, I technically own a part of this studio," Renjun retorted. 

"You don't own this studio just because you're my nephew, Renjun," Ten called out, halting any fantasy of Renjun about owning the studio. 

Not that he wouldn't pass down the studio to Renjun if he wanted to take over but Ten didn't want him to indulge too much. 

"Does your dad know you're here?" Ten asked when he got back into the practice room. 

"He knows I'm  _ not  _ in the bakery," Yangyang mumbled. 

Renjun scoffed. "You're not going to tell him you're here?" 

"He's not going to allow me to come up here if he knows," Yangyang pouted. "It's not like I'm enrolling for lessons, I just came to hang out," 

"Maybe if you told your dad that, he would allow you," Ten said. "I'm sure he doesn't mind since I'm around and he knows me,"

Yangyang stayed silent. Ten watched as the other seemed to ponder with his thoughts. Finally, he sighed out and took out his phone. 

"Fine, I'll just text him," Yangyang said as he typed on his phone. A notification came in not a minute later after he sent his text.

"And what did your father say?" Ten asked. 

"Scolded me because I didn't tell him beforehand," Yangyang replied. "But said I can hang around as long as I behave and don't cause trouble to you," 

Ten snorted. "Knowing that you're friends with Renjun, I can tell that both of you together is only the starting of a hurricane," 

"Uncle!" Renjun whined pitifully as Yangyang cackled. 

"Do you like dancing, Yangyang?" Ten asked when they had all settled down. 

"Yup!" Yangyang chirped. "I used to learn street dancing in school before I stopped," 

"You stopped?" Ten asked. 

"Yeah, got into a minor injury. Hospitalized for a few weeks. Dad was  _ livid.  _ That's why he made me stop dancing temporarily," Yangyang explained.

"Minor injury? Dude, it wasn't minor at all," Renjun countered. 

"I  _ healed.  _ You, dad and literally everyone else make a big deal out of it," Yangyang huffed. 

"As they should," Ten said. "Regardless if it was a minor or major injury, I understand why your dad will feel protective over you,"

Yangyang pouted, clearly sulking. He wasn't exactly upset as he continued to counterattack Renjun's every poke and teasing. Ten shook his head, remembering how Renjun was the same. It was really amusing to see the two friends together, with Ten having a ridiculous crush on Kun. 

"Do you want to learn dance again, Yangyang?" Ten asked.

"Of course!" Yangyang said excitedly. "But dad doesn't allow me to do so," 

"Are your grades that bad?" Ten asked, remembering Kun saying that Yangyang wasn't allowed to learn dance because of his academics. 

"It's not  _ that  _ bad. Renjun can testify it for me! It's not excellent but it's definitely above average," Yangyang explained. "Dad only uses that as an excuse because he's worried about my health but I'm a healthy boy! Definitely healthier than Chenle at least, and I'm good at managing my time," 

Renjun sighed. "I hate to say this, but Yangyang is actually good at managing his time." 

"Are you?" Ten asked him, eyebrows arched. 

"I'm the school's basketball ace, take violin classes and attend my German language classes every week while completing all my due homework," Yangyang boasted. "Time is basically my friend," 

"If, let's say, you have more time to spare and I manage to convince your dad to let you take dance lessons, what do you think?" Ten offered. 

Renjun looked at him suspiciously. Yangyang's eyes widened. 

"You'll do that for me?" Yangyang asked. 

Ten shrugged his shoulders. "As long as you keep your grades up and don't cause trouble in school,"

  
  
  


So maybe he did want to teach Yangyang dance. The kid had potential. Of course, Ten had never seen the boy dance right before his eyes in the 24 hours Ten had met him. But Yangyang was friends with Renjun – who, in Ten's opinion, was an outstanding dancer – and he also knew the basics. The clips they had shown him of his old dancing videos was another great push. So to say, he did want to train Yangyang to help him build up his dancing skills. 

But, he was not Ten if he didn't have any other intentions. 

They weren't malicious, and Ten swore on this though it wasn't exactly acceptable. Afterall, what kind of teacher would help out his student with the underlying intention to get close to said student's father? 

"You just want a reason to talk to Kun gē, don't you?" 

"Shh!" Ten hushed his nephew. "You can't say that out loud what if somebody hears you?" 

Renjun rolled his eyes. "This wouldn't happen if you weren't such a coward, uncle," 

"Stop calling me a coward or I'll cut off your Chinese New Year money," Ten threatened him. 

"I'm telling Otou-san!" Renjun said. 

"Watch if I care what Yuta hyung says," Ten replied as he locked the studio and headed downstairs. "Also tell your dad to pick you up, I have errands to run," 

"Why didn't you say that earlier? You know how long Bà takes to drive here! I'll have to wait for so long," Renjun whined. "And you don't have errands to run you just want to flirt with Kun gē at his bakery," 

Ten turned around and slapped a hand over Renjun's mouth. "One of these days I'll put a tape over your mouth." 

"Do that and my dads will come at you," Renjun said, voice muffled by Ten's hand. 

"Why do you always threaten me by playing your 'I'll tell my fathers' card?" Ten sighed out, removing his hand. 

"Because it's fun to see Bà judging you and Otou-san one minute away from possibly strangling you," Renjun answered, smiling.

"You do realize I've known Sicheng since he was in his diapers, right?" Ten said. "And Yuta, I have centuries worth of blackmail material over him since he decided it was a good idea to get shitfaced in front of me. If anything, they should fear me," 

Renjun's eyes sparkled and Ten shuddered. "Teach me your ways," 

"No way. A blackmail master never reveals his blackmail materials unless for blackmailing," Ten replied. "Now can you please go home? I have important matters to attend to," 

"Flirting with Kun gē is not important matter as far as it concerns me," 

"One day, Renjun, one day. I'll tape that mouth of yours and I'll finally be free from this torture,"

"I'll like to see you try, uncle." Renjun said, smirking smugly. 

This kid, if Ten didn't love him that much he would surely have made his life a living hell. Instead, Ten walked over to Kun's bakery, Renjun following him closely as he texted Sicheng to pick him up. It would take a while – Sicheng drove slowly, a clear contrast to Ten who sometimes sped at traffic lights in a rush – and having Renjun within his eyesight was better than leaving him outside. God forbid he let his nephew stand outside alone. At least Kun's bakery was warm and they could perhaps get a light dinner. 

As Ten opened the door, the smell of fresh baked goods wafted through his nose. Ten inhaled deeply, savouring the scent of bread from the bakery and feeling his stomach grumble.

"Welcome to Qian's Breadstory!" The workers greeted and Ten immediately caught sight of Kun behind the counter. 

He happily skipped his way there, ignoring the groan coming out from Renjun. His nephew has no rights to judge his pathetic love life. Renjun was only 14 with too much homeworks and extra-curricular on his plate. Ten was a fully functioning adult who has a stupid crush on the stupidly handsome male who owned a bakery under his studio. They were not the same.

"Good evening, Mr Qian," Ten chirped happily when he reached the counter, surprising Kun who was busy counting his stocks. 

His face bloomed into a smile however, when he saw that it was Ten. "Hello, Dance Instructor Ten," 

Ten laughed cheerily. "Please, that's so corny."

"I'm not the one who started calling people with honorifics," Kun commented, still smiling. "And what brings my upstairs neighbour to my bakery tonight?"

"Looking for a little light dinner." Ten answered. "And, well, maybe an offer or two about something." 

"A light dinner, I can provide. That offer though, I'm curious." Kun said, an eyebrow arched. 

Ten laughed and  _ goodness,  _ why was he laughing so much? There wasn't even anything particularly funny about their conversation. "I will spare you some information, if you spare me a cookie." 

"You're in luck, I have a fresh newly baked batch in there." 

Ten perked up at this. "Will you give me a whole tray?"

Kun laughed. "Depends on whether or not I like the offer you're giving me. Take a seat, I'll join you later on with cookies." 

Ten nodded his head before heading over to one of the tables for a seat when Kun retreated to his kitchen. From the corner of his eyes, Ten caught Renjun's unamused gaze on him. He rolled his eyes at him and Renjun gave him a deadpanned look. He was sitting with Yangyang, who looked positively beaming in his seat when Ten caught his gaze. Ten merely smiled, nodding his head and taking a seat a little far away from them so that he didn't have to deal with his nephew's judgement nor his crush's son's. 

He took a seat, inhaling deeply. He barely got to prepare himself before Kun came out with a tray of food. His apron was gotten rid off and in his sights, Ten saw a male in his 30s, who happened to have two sons but still looking devilishly handsome with a rolled on sleeves buttoned up and black pants. And if Ten crushed harder, well, that was his problem that Sicheng would eventually know if Renjun could see the way he nearly froze at this moment. 

Kun took a seat before him, placing the tray of food on the table. Apparently, there was more than just the cookies Ten was looking forward to. There were also two glasses of warm tea and a plate of baked rice. 

"What's this?" Ten asked, eyeing the mouthwatering dish.

"A light dinner," Kun answered.

"Well, I wasn't expecting  _ rice."  _ Ten wondered.

Kun chuckled. "Don't we all love our rice? It's just a little spare meal from the packed lunch I brought for the boys. I heated it up and added some stuff from the kitchen. It's nothing special."

"Nothing special?" Ten scoffed at him. "Kun, this is a whole  _ meal.  _ And you did it with whatever ingredients you have in your bakery. I just know this is going to be amazing." 

"Please, you're flattering me." Kun said and Ten could see the dust of pink on his cheeks that made him softened. 

He picked up the rice carefully, making sure he didn't burn his hands before scooping a spoonful and feeding himself. "Not if I already know how delicious your cooking is." 

Ten let out a satisfying hum when he tasted the food in his mouth. He looked at Kun with sparkling eyes and Kun stared back at him with a small smile. 

"Please be my personal chef," 

Kun laughed and Ten liked the sound. It was raw and beautiful and the deep way his voice grumbled just  _ fitted  _ Kun and all his glory. It rang almost throughout the bakery and if the l word came into Ten's mind then maybe, just maybe, he actually felt like falling soon. No more just a minor crush on his part. 

"Are you sure you want to though? I'll make sure you eat a lot. Even the recipes I fail at making. Yangyang and Chenle can testify." Kun asked. 

"Liar. You're so perfect. I don't believe you can ever screw over a recipe?" Ten huffed out.

"I'm not perfect, Ten," Kun whispered out, shaking his head slightly. Ten wondered what he meant by that but he didn't get to ask as Kun continued. "What is it that you want to ask me?"

"Oh," Ten mumbled, placing down his spoon to form his words better. "Actually, I was thinking, what do you think of letting Yangyang take dancing lessons?"

Kun arched an eyebrow at him. "Ten, did he force you to ask me?" 

"No, Kun." Ten sighed. "I just wanted him to come and learn with me. I know it kinda sounds selfish as if I want to leech off your money but I swear it's because I can see his potential."

"You've never even  _ seen  _ him dance." Kun retorted. 

"Well, actually, Renjun and him showed me a few of his old dance videos when he was still dancing." Ten trailed off. "I know he can be more so I was thinking, and since he wants it too, why not enroll him in dance classes again?" 

"It's not that I won't allow him but his grades,"

"I make him promise to bring his grades up while he attends my classes. I even made Renjun promise to have a study session with each other. Also, I can help them out as well. Just for your knowledge, I was one of the Top 50 aces back in Thailand and I was in the Dean list in college." 

Kun sighed, looking at him. Ten knew it was more than just a bad grade. He wasn't a father but he was an uncle who helped raise his nephew. He was a cousin and friend to a couple with a son. He  _ had seen  _ every little turmoil and trouble Sicheng and Yuta had gone through from the moment 6-year-old Renjun stepped into their home until he was the 14-year-old he was today. He might not understand it fully, but he had a semblance of their thought process. 

"It's not the grade you're worrying about, right?" Kun gave him a pained look and Ten knew he hit a spot. 

"He learnt dancing at a young age and soon took interest in street dancing. I never stopped him because I thought, I shouldn't stop his hobbies." Kun sighed out. "But two, three years ago, he did a stunt dance. And okay, he didn't get into a coma or whatever but he broke his leg and I was  _ worried,  _ Ten. He couldn't walk for  _ weeks.  _ I just, I got worried if he could ever walk again." 

"But he's walking now isn't he? Hell, he's jumping and strutting all over the place." Ten said. 

He reached out and held Kun's hands that were placed on the table. He would have felt shy about it but Ten only had one thing in mind. To reassure the single father of two that he shouldn't  _ worry  _ about it so much. To tell Kun that he was already doing a wonderful job at raising his sons. To promise Kun that he would help look after his sons when he already had too much on his plate. Because Ten might have a crush on Kun, but he found himself adoring his sons a little more every time they met. 

"Kun, accidents happen. You can't help it. I- I had an accident once and it was _ horrid  _ that I thought that I will never dance again. But I did, and now I'm a dance teacher." Ten said. "I'm not saying you can't be worried about them, that's a parent nature and you can't change that. I have a heart attack every time I see Renjun near something that could potentially harm him."

"You've already done a wonderful job at raising them, I have no doubt at this when I see Yangyang and Chenle. What I'm saying is, they're growing children, Kun. They're going to hurt themselves whether physically or emotionally but that's where they learn. You could protect them with a helmet, knee pads, elbow pads and a roll of bubble wrap but they would still somehow get into trouble. It's inevitable."

Kun blinked at him and Ten wondered if he had overstepped his boundaries when Kun scrunched up his nose then sigh. "I hate how rational you are."

"Sorry, I can be a little blunt at times." Ten winced. 

"It's okay. I think I needed to hear that," Kun mumbled. He looked to his side and Ten followed his gaze towards Renjun and Yangyang, now with Chenle joining them sitting a few tables away. "I'm worried because Yangyang can be reckless."

"I know," Ten said, turning to look at him again. "I've seen him, and I've seen him with Renjun."

Kun chuckled. "I know he wants to dance, been begging me since I banned him a year ago. He did everything to persuade me after I gave a hundred excuses why he couldn't join dancing classes again. He brought his grades up, managed his time  _ and  _ scored in all of the extra-curricular activities he joined. It's hard to keep denying him when he's that persistent." 

"He really loves dancing, huh?" Ten asked. 

"His roots, I guess." Kun mumbled. 

"How about trial classes for the time being?" Ten suggested. "Two or three trial classes and we'll see how he does. If you agree, we can just proceed.  _ And  _ I'll make sure he takes care of himself. I'll probably ask Renjun to smack him if he starts doing dangerous stunts, if that's okay with you."

Kun laughed. "I'm asking so much from you,"

Ten shrugged his shoulders. "You gave me food, let's just say it's a little payback."

"You remind me of a cat," Kun commented.

"Maybe that's why Tongtong and I get along well," Ten snorted and it should be an ugly sound but Kun looked at him with a soft smile and a gentle gaze.

"Your dance classes are way more expensive than that, isn't it?" 

"As if home-cooked meals aren't priceless and worth more."

Ten blinked his eyes slowly. They were still looking at each other and before Ten could say more, maybe finish his food that Kun had prepared, the door to the bakery opened. Ten jumped in his seat, finally noticing his hands that were still holding Kun's. Kun seemed to notice it too as he stared at Ten in surprise. 

"Uncle, I'm going home!" Renjun announced, appearing beside their table and they removed their hands quickly from each other like they were just burned. 

"Okay, yeah, um, your dad's here?" Ten asked, looking at Renjun. 

"There," Renjun answered, gesturing to Sicheng at the entrance. Ten met eyes with Sicheng's amused face and he knew there was no way he could live this down.

"I'm heading home first. Don't stay out too late." Renjun reminded him before he went to his father. 

"Yeah, you too. Tell Yuta I said hi," Ten barely managed to stutter out. Sicheng and Renjun waved bye at him before they left the premises and Ten turned back towards Kun.

"I- uh- I should head back to work since we're closing soon," Kun stuttered out, standing up.

"Yeah, um, sure, sure. I should finish my food too." Ten mumbled out. Kun didn't reach far before Ten called for his attention again. "I'll text you?"

Kun looked at him, blinking confusedly. Text him the  _ details  _ of Yangyang's  _ classes _ , was what Ten was supposed to say. But he didn't get to fix his sentence when Kun gave him a blinding smile and Ten felt his legs giving out. Thank goodness he was sitting down or else he would have embarrassed himself in the middle of Kun's bakery.

"I'll wait for it," Kun said before he ducked his way to the kitchen. Ten shoved a spoonful of rice into his mouth to swallow down his embarrassment. Oh life, what an interesting turn of events have you taken.

  
  
  


Ten snickered to himself, reading through the contents of the texts. Kun was the dorkiest and possibly the lamest texter Ten had ever encountered. Which might have to do with the fact that he was a single father in his 30s. Still, Ten found that personality of Kun endearing. Just a 30 something year old male trying to be hip like his kids but also attempting to probably flirt with Ten.

"Man, he's worse than when Lucas had a crush on Jungwoo," Hendery commented from the side and Ten looked up to glare at the other. 

"I know right?" Renjun agreed. "Do you think they'll be as bad as Lucas and Jungwoo dating when they start dating?"

"Oh, they'll be  _ worse,"  _

"Hendery, favourite nephew card revoked." 

"I'm not even your nephew!"

"That's what I told him!" 

Ten rolled his eyes, replying to Kun one last time before placing his phone away. So much for only texting Yangyang's dance class details. They ended up talking way more than just that. A simple 'what are you doing?' text extending to a 'sleep well' text and later a 'good morning' text and Ten only stopped replying when he had a class to teach. He walked over to where Renjun and Hendery was, still whispering amongst themselves. 

"Aren't you supposed to stretch?" Ten asked them, hands on his hips. 

"We are," Hendery answered. 

"Gossiping isn't a type of stretching," Ten retorted.

"No, but it makes a good pastime." Renjun said. 

Ten sighed, hands falling to his side. They were annoying, Ten couldn't deny that. He had been their age once, he had pissed off more people than he could count. Yet Ten always had a soft spot towards people he loved and these two before him, Ten loved them dearly. It was hard to stay annoyed or mad at them for too long. 

"Did you guys come here straight from school?" Ten asked them, sitting down. 

"As usual," Renjun answered.

"Have you eaten?" 

"Only a cookie Yangyang spared us from his dad's bakery." Hendery said. 

Ten arched an eyebrow at them. "Wait, you know each other?"

Renjun sighed. "You're so out of it, uncle. Yangyang studies in the same school as we do. That's why I know him and obviously Hendery would know him as well." 

"Yeah, I forgot you have the same circle of friends," Ten commented, earning him a glare from Renjun. "Oh, I forgot to ask you this. That means you knew Kun was a single father and Yangyang is his son?" 

"Actually, I don't." Renjun answered.

Ten blinked at him. "What do you mean you don't?" 

"I  _ know  _ Yangyang but we weren't that close like I am with, um, let's say, Donghyuck. You know Donghyuck, right?"

"The one you had over at your house one time and had that tacky red hair?" 

_ "You  _ had tacky red hair one time, stop judging my friends."

Ten shrugged his shoulders. "I was just saying."

"Okay, yeah, whatever so you know Donghyuck. And like Donghyuck and I, we're super close. But Yangyang and I, we're close, we're friends but not to the personal level." Renjun explained. "And I've seen Chenle in piano class but I didn't even know him and Yangyang are siblings. I only know they were close and maybe related, but didn't expect them to be siblings." 

"Huh," Ten mumbled. 

"Hendery's close to Yangyang though," Renjun said and Ten turned to look at him. 

Hendery held up both of his hands before him in defense. "Not that close, still. I know him and we talk. But we've never gotten to that stage where we talk about our personal lives. I knew he was adopted and raised by a single father, has a sibling named Chenle that I've never met before and that was it." 

"Odd," Ten muttered under his breath. "No wonder I never knew he was a single father. There was barely any indication that Kun has kids." 

"I don't think they're hiding it purposely though." Renjun remarked. "Maybe we just never crossed paths. I know Kun gē is actively involved with Yangyang and Chenle's school life since I always hear the teachers praise his contribution."

"I still find it intriguing. Don't you see him around Kun's bakery whenever you stop by there?" Ten asked.

"Even if I did, it's not anything unusual to see students hanging out in Kun's bakery but unsurprisingly, I don't." Renjun replied.

"If you haven't known yet, Yangyang has a crazy schedule. Violin classes, language classes, sports I don't think I've ever heard of." Hendery said. 

Ten scrunched up his nose. "Isn't he tired?" 

"I'm not," The three of them jumped in their seat at the sound of another voice. They turned to look and saw Yangyang grinning at them as he stood at the doorway. 

"Sorry if I came unannounced. The door was open," Yangyang said, taking a seat with them. 

"It's fine. You're joining us for the next class, right?" Ten asked him.

"Yup! Thanks for asking dad if I can join. If it was me asking, he would shut me down immediately," 

"He's just worried." Renjun told him. 

"And he should be with how insane your schedule is." Ten pointed out. 

"It's not  _ that  _ bad, promise. Those are just the things I want to do. I make sure I have time for myself as well. So don't worry," Yangyang explained.

Hendery snorted. "Tell that to your dad." 

"He's a little overprotective," Yangyang sighed out. "And with Chenle still trying to fit in here, he gets more worried about us." 

"You're okay with fitting in?" Ten asked him.

"I can make friends," Yangyang answered, tilting his head to gesture at Hendery and Renjun. "But Chenle always had trouble with it since we were back in China. Doesn't help that there's a language barrier." 

"Fitting in is hard, I know this because I was once in your shoes." Ten commented.

Renjun scoffed at him. "I don't believe you. How were you close with Otou-san then?"

"Or how you manage to know so many people to help build up your studio?" Hendery pointed out.

"Pushing down the embarrassment," Ten replied, leaning on his hands. "I make  _ a lot  _ of mistakes speaking Korean but I thought, if I don't fail, I won't learn. And here is where I am now, with the same friends I made by mistake, helping me out." 

"You make it sound so easy," Yangyang mumbled, lips jutting out in a pout. 

Ten merely laughed, pushing himself up. "It's easy if you don't think too much about it."

  
  
  


"Morning," Ten jumped in place at the sudden voice and turned around to look. His face bloomed into a smile however when he saw Kun.

"Morning," Ten greeted, smiling. "You startled me."

"Sorry, you were engrossed in reading your mails." Kun said. 

"Bills," Ten replied, showing him the multitudes of envelopes. 

Kun hummed softly. "Breakfast? Or you already had yours?"

Ten laughed. "I don't remember a day where I had breakfast that is not an Americano and nothing else."

"Okay, that's just plain unhealthy."

"Oh, please don't remind me of my screwed up eating schedule."

"And that's where I come in to remind you to eat a proper meal," Kun said. "So, breakfast?"

"I like my breakfast dates persuasive, so I guess you won yourself a breakfast with me," Ten grinned, closing his mailbox.

"Really? I think I won the moment we became business neighbours." Kun replied, showing off his own grin. 

Ten followed him as they left the area. Kun explained on the way where they were headed to. It was a diner a few blocks down their own shop building that Ten had heard about. He never went there though, it just never crossed his mind. He knew it was affordable while also serving delicious dishes, thanks to the suggestions of his students. But Ten never found a reason to actually go there, seeing that he preferred deliveries over takeouts and eating in. 

They arrived at the quaint diner. It was probably as big as Kun's bakery, seeing that most of the shop lots here were of the same designs. Entering the diner, Ten could see why they called it comfortable. 

It was designed like those old retro diners but with a splash of modern thrown into it. The designs were mainly inspired by diners in China, Ten guessed as he saw similar decorations as he did back when he used to visit restaurants in China with Sicheng whenever they went back for New Years. It was simple but showed off the details put into making this diner stand out.

"Kun, it's been a while," Someone greeted him when they took a seat at one of the tables. 

"Junhui, hey! Sorry I don't drop by often, the bakery's been busy you know." Kun answered, smiling at him. 

The other male was tall with lilac hair that Ten would die to try out soon if his scalp wasn't burning and he was trying to give it a rest. Based on the male's outfit and attitude, Junhui, as Ten figured out from Kun, might as well be the owner of this diner.

"Oh, it's fine. I understand. And who's the guest?" Junhui asked, looking at Ten.

"This is Ten, the owner of the dance studio above my bakery." Kun said. 

Junhui's eyes widened. "Ah, you're the owner of the dance studio Chan's been gushing about! I heard you're good."

Ten laughed shyly. "Thank you. I'm okay for beginners."

"Trust me, he's good. He convinced me to put Yangyang back in dance."

"He's  _ that  _ good huh? Kun has ban Yangyang from dance for almost a year now and you just came and crash it,"

"I just thought he has a lot of potential."

"He does. And he can only flourish it if Kun stopped being overprotective." Junhui replied, staring pointedly at Kun. "Come on, order up. Your breakfast's on me since you manage to stop making Kun a lame prick."

"Hey, what about me?"

"Pay your meal, lameass." 

Ten laughed. "Give me your best then."

"On it. Just make sure you don't dream about it after this because I won't guarantee the menu would still be here next time." Junhui said, grinning. "Kun, the regular?"

"Yeah, and an order of you to not disturb us and send in your part-timers instead." Kun huffed out. 

Junhui snorted. "I'll try. Enjoy your time! I'll get the dishes out soon to save your grumbling." 

Junhui left them alone after that and Ten suddenly felt the awkwardness seeped in. This was the first time him and Kun were left alone with no one else. Well, there was that evening in the bakery but back then Ten had a topic to talk about and it wasn't like they planned to sit down together. Right now, they were having a meal together, just the two of them, in a place that was not Kun's bakery nor anywhere near their family members. 

"So…" Kun trailed off.

"So?" Ten said, arching an eyebrow.

"I don't know, really. I'm bad at conversations."

"Oh same here."

"Really? You seemed fine when we talked at the bakery." 

"That's my brain working on auto-pilot,"

Kun laughed. "You're interesting," 

"Not something any of my exes have said," Ten commented offhandedly.

"And what have they said about you?" Kun asked, curious.

"Clingy? Pushy. Flamboyant. A little weird. Some other stuff I don't bother remembering?" Ten answered. 

"I don't think you're any of those things."

"Are you sure?"

"Mm,  _ maybe  _ a little weird." Kun replied but his eyes on Ten were nothing short of kind. "But it's not a bad thing. Everyone needs a little weird, don't they?"

"So you're saying that I'm a good kind of weird?" Ten asked.

"Yeah. A good kind of weird. Something out of the blue. Interesting. Like, like pineapple on pizza." 

Ten blinked at him. "Pineapple on pizza?"

"Yes, like you know how a lot of people don't think that, that's a normal thing, right? And a lot of people don't like it. But still, a lot more others  _ love  _ it. It's not the norm for the general public, but it's something special for someone still." Kun explained.

"That- that's an interesting way to look at it," Ten mumbled. "So basically I'm the raisin in cookies?"

"I don't like to put raisins in my cookies."

"Fair. I don't like them either. That's why I like your cookies."

"Just the cookies?" Kun asked, the corner of his lips quirking slightly. 

Ten looked at him with a confused gaze, an eyebrow arched. "Well, I like your bread too. Oh! Your chocolate cakes, those are delicious." 

"And what about the person behind those pastries?" Kun asked, leaning back but eyes still trained on Ten. 

"What about the person behind those pastries?"

"Do you like them?" 

The corner of his lips twitched slightly. Was Kun  _ flirting?  _ With him? That was hard to digest but seeing Kun's trained gaze on him, Ten's heart couldn't help but flutter a little. He leaned forward, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. 

"Maybe?" Ten answered. "I like him, a bit I guess."

"Just a bit? Not more?" 

Ten laughed. "I'll have to get to know him more to decide that, shouldn't I?" 

"That's true." Kun answered, nodding his head. "So do you happen to be free next Saturday? There's somewhere I like to go and I was thinking some company would be nice."

Ten paused. He blinked his eyes a few times, trying to process it all. "You- You're inviting me?"

"I am."

"Is it like a friendly date or like a, you know," Ten coughed. "A date?"

"I want it to be a  _ date. _ But only if you want it to be one too." Kun told him, eyes sincere.

"Well, then, I'm free next Saturday,"

Kun grinned at him. "I'll pick you up at 2? Is that okay?"

"Yes, definitely. Any dress codes? Do I need to bring anything?" Ten asked.

"Nope. Just you."

Ten blushed a bright red. Okay, wow. That was a lot to take in. 

Guess he should inform his students that his Saturday classes next week were cancelled suddenly. 

  
  
  


"He asked you out on a date!?" Renjun exclaimed the same time Hendery squealed and Ten was pretty sure his ears were going to bleed. But hey, he appreciated their excitement. 

"Yes," Ten answered shyly.

He was a male in his 30s. A male in his 30s! Not a highschool teenager. He  _ shouldn't  _ be this shy and giddy over  _ a date.  _

"And you say he wasn't interested in you!" Hendery shrieked.

"Well because I thought he didn't!" Ten huffed out. "He's a successful baker on top of being a single father in his 30s. Who knew he would be interested in  _ me.  _ A lonely male who danced for a living." 

"You're talking lowly of yourself, that's so not you," Renjun pointed out and Ten avoided his gaze. He stared at Ten long enough until he finally made sense of everything. "You really like him, don't you?"

"Please don't tell Yangyang," Ten pleaded with wide eyes.

"Why?" Hendery asked. 

Ten sighed, standing up and fixing his studio for his next class. "I don't want him to think I'm taking advantage of him being my student to get closer to Kun. I genuinely do think that he has the talents for it."

"Yangyang wouldn't think of you that way," Hendery assured him. 

"Hendery, you're not sure of that." Ten said, looking at him. "Maybe he doesn't but what if he does? I know him and Kun have a great bond, with Chenle as well. What will they think when their father suddenly brings home a love interest? Of course they will be wary. I'm a stranger to their little family. Even if Yangyang likes me now, we can't guarantee that he will like me when I say I like his father. I'm practically still a stranger to him."

"Get to know their family then," Renjun answered simply. 

Oh, how Ten wished it was that simple. He wished it was just easy to fit into their little home of three. But it wasn't. They have been a family for  _ years  _ now, it wasn't like they could simply accept Ten into that family of theirs. Even if there was still nothing concrete about him and Kun, his children would still be guarded around Ten. Dating a single father didn't mean that Ten only had to be part of Kun's life, he would also need to be a part of his children's life, let them accept him into their hearts. 

Ten knew it wasn't that easy. Therefore, he was careful. Unless he was sure of it, if he owned that certainty that his feelings towards Kun could be more then only will Ten act upon it. 

"I can but they still have to accept me with their own hearts or it won't work." Ten replied, turning on the music. 

His students started filing in one by one and amongst those people was Yangyang, who immediately headed over to Renjun and Hendery when he saw them. Ten looked at him for longer than he intended. He admitted, he would get to know Yangyang and Chenle more if he had the chance. Because Ten was happy to know Kun, but he was also enjoying himself with Yangyang and maybe soon enough Chenle, whenever Ten managed to catch him around.

  
  
  


He tried to not let the stray thread on the ends of his sleeves bother him too much. Ten was a perfectionist, he acknowledged that. He knew Kun was a little bit of a perfectionist himself, after talking to him for so long. But he also knew that it was a date, a  _ first date  _ at that and there was bound to be a mistake that they couldn't fix. Ten should let it be because mistakes happen and he couldn't blame it on anything. 

Yet when he looked at the grey skies and heard the rumbling storm, Ten blamed all the unlucky stars that shone upon him today, of all days. 

"I can't believe it started raining when I got here." Kun said, standing beside Ten at his apartment lobby as he stared at the sky as well. "And for it to be this heavy too," 

Ten sighed. "I can get us an umbrella upstairs."

"It wouldn't be sufficient. We'll still be drenched even with umbrellas covering us. This rain is too heavy." Kun said. 

And Ten knew it was true. It was as true as it could be with the way the rain hit the sidewalk and splashed into the stairs leading up to Ten's apartment building's lobby. He could see the puddle forming at the entrance. 

"It's not gonna let up soon, isn't it?"

"Possibly," 

Ten sighed again before turning towards Kun. "Let's head to my apartment then. I can't have you stand here until the rain let up. Maybe we can do something else for today."

"If you don't mind." Kun answered as he followed Ten to his apartment unit. 

He was grateful that he remembered to clean up his house prior to this day, or else, Kun's image of him would definitely change. Ten wasn't a dirty person of course. He never left dirty dishes on the table or let his garbage draw in flies but his apartment wasn't always spotless either. Sometimes in his haze to work, Ten would leave his clothes here and there, his bed unfixed and his couch cushions thrown everywhere. Today however, it was neat and tidy and smelt of the cinnamon spice candle Ten burnt in the morning. 

He let Kun enter first before he did, closing the door after him. They didn't make it far when Ten heard the jingling of a bell from TongTong's collar and her sudden appearance beside Kun's legs. She rubbed her fur against his jeans and Ten heard Kun laughed heartily before he crouched down. 

"So, this is the infamous daughter of Ten, huh?" Kun said, picking up the cat as he stood up and turned towards Ten. 

Ten smiled sheepishly. "Yup, that's my girl TongTong."

"She's so adorable!" Kun gushed out before smothering his face in TongTong's fur. "I get why you would call her your baby,"

"She's my little precious. She seems to like you a lot. TongTong doesn't just rub herself against strangers in the house. She even actively avoids Renjun whenever he's around." Ten said. 

"Really now? Maybe she thinks I'm worthy of her owner's attention." Kun commented. 

Ten shook his head amusedly. "You can sit in the living room. I'll just get us some drinks." 

He watched as Kun headed to his living room before Ten went to the kitchen. He wasn't really sure what to serve Kun. His kitchen was mainly bare with the exception of his coffee beans collection, some tea boxes Sicheng gave him, a jar of cookies from Kun's bakery and a lot of instant foods. Ten decided to steep the tea for them. He roughly knew that Kun wasn't a fan of coffee, based on the drinks he always sipped on when Ten ever hung out at his bakery. 

Ten poured them into two mugs that he found in his cabinet. If this was the Nakamoto-Dong household, he was sure they could serve tea from Sicheng's fine china collection. But this was Ten's lonely apartment therefore a Winnie the Pooh mug would have to suffice. 

The scene before him when he entered the living room with two mugs of tea was certainly a sight to see. Kun was still playing with TongTong, now with one of her toys Ten had placed idly. She seemed to enjoy it a lot, hopping here and there while Kun smiled amusedly at her. It was so painfully domestic that Ten forgot that if it wasn't for the rain, he probably wouldn't have gotten the chance to see this. Perhaps the slight change of plans due to the unfortunate weather wasn't all too bad.

Ten walked over to them, taking a seat a few feet away from Kun and placed the mugs down. Kun smiled at him gratefully before he put the toy aside to grab the drink. 

"You're fond of her," Ten commented, looking at TongTong who had run off to her scratch post. 

"I used to raise a cat when I was in high school. He lives with my parents now back in China." Kun explained. 

"TongTong has been with me since I started the studio. She was a stray I picked up on the way home." Ten said. 

"She's adorable, you raised her well."

Ten gave him a bright smile. "Do Yangyang and Chenle know you're with me?" 

"Of course, I can't really go out without informing them. They'll pester me about it otherwise." Kun said. "They're probably stuck to the television right now. I already cooked food for them, so they should be fine on their own." 

Ten nodded his head silently. So Yangyang and Chenle knew. He wondered how much the two knew, whether Kun told them that they were supposed to be on a date or whether he said they were just hanging out. 

"They like you, you know." Kun said, noticing the anxiousness emitting from the other. 

"Who?" Ten asked, snapping out of his thoughts. 

"My sons," Kun replied and Ten didn't know why, but it made his chest warm when he heard Kun address those two as his sons. Of course, that was to be expected but it was still endearing to hear it from Kun. "They like you a lot."

"I guess, that's reassuring?" Ten said, confused. 

"You look like you're about to combust from nervousness whenever they're mentioned when it's just the two of us." Kun said. 

Ten's eyes widened. "I didn't mean it in a bad way!"

Kun chuckled. "I know, Ten. I don't think you meant it like that either," 

"Oh," Ten mumbled. 

Kun smiled softly, holding onto his mug of tea and facing forward. "Yangyang's actually the son of one of my friends. They were a runaway couple, never had their families' blessing. I helped them for some time just so they could get to their feet again. Just when they were stable, their luck ran out and they got into an accident. Yangyang survived but no family members came forward to claim him." 

"And you?"

"I took him in. I just can't bear to see him alone or placed in an orphanage with no guarantee of a family. I was as much as a family to him already back then. I knew his parents would be happy to know that I did so too. The adoption was a long and harsh process but I get to see him grow up now, and honestly, I've never felt happier." Kun continued. 

Ten let the words sink into him. So that was how Yangyang came to Kun. Who knew that bright, beautiful teen had once lost everything at once. If it wasn't for Kun, who knew where Yangyang could be now.

"And Chenle?" Ten couldn't help but ask. 

"I met Chenle as a toddler at the orphanage I used to volunteer at. He was left when he was a baby with almost nothing. After months of volunteering there, I got attached and couldn't bear to see him not receiving the needed parental love and attention. I decided to adopt him." Kun explained. 

"That's a noble thing for you to do." Ten commented.

His heart fluttered briefly. It was a lot for Kun to unbox, for him to willingly unravel his family's past for Ten was a lot of courage to have. And Ten couldn't help but to feel touched. Kun trusted him. Kun trusted him enough for him to tell Ten one of his more personal secrets. 

Kun snorted. "People call me insane back then. Adopting a kid and a toddler when I never had an experience raising any on top of managing my family's bakery. Yes, I was insane, but I thought if I didn't, I'll probably live with a lot of regrets. Seeing the two of them grow up, I'm proud."

"I think you did a great job." Ten told him. "Raising two boys on your own with barely any knowledge. You've done a better job than most parents nowadays." 

Kun smiled at him. "It's assuring to hear that."

"Believe me, you are a great parent." Ten said, reaching out to hold Kun's hand. 

Kun looked down at their hands before he flipped Ten's over and intertwined their fingers together. "My life has always been about my boys and the bakery, barely enough space for myself. I try to look for a partner several times but they just- they don't understand me at all and most times would ask me to choose between them or my boys. Obviously, I would choose my boys." 

"As you should." Ten said, sternly. "If they truly loved you, they'll accept you and your boys."

Kun laughed. "Yangyang and Chenle didn't like most of them either. But that's fine, I won't date someone who treats my sons badly. I raised them on my own and I won't let people ruin my family."

Ten nodded his head. He wouldn't understand why people would do that. Family meant a lot to Ten as well, being away from them for miles. So he could never understand how someone could just come and ruin that. Didn't they have their own family to think about? Were they ashamed to bring a single father Kun to meet their family? His adopted sons were just as much as a family like someone else's biological child.

"Thankfully enough, this is the first time I wasn't asked to choose between either." Kun said.

Ten blinked his eyes at him. "What?"

"Yangyang has been pestering me for some time now, wondering when I will ask you out on a date. Chenle too, discreetly but still. That's how I got the courage to ask you out. I didn't want us to start something that will get us nowhere. When my sons insisted, I was assured." 

"That's why you asked me out the other day?" 

"Yup," Kun confirmed with a grin. He sighed. "It's a bummer we couldn't go on with our date." 

"It's fine. We can spend it here if you'll like." Ten answered. 

"To be honest, I can't remember the last time I was on a date. So I'm not really sure what we should do about this." Kun replied. "But I'm okay with just hanging out here if it's with you." 

Ten scrunched up his nose, smiling pleasantly. "You're so cheesy, you know that?" 

Kun laughed. "Maybe I am."

"They really don't mind?" Ten asked again. It wasn't that he didn't believe Kun, it was more because he was insecure. 

"They like you a lot," Kun answered.  _ "I  _ like you a lot." 

Ten smiled bashfully, looking down at their intertwined fingers. "I like you a lot too. So this is okay, right?"

Kun gave his hand a gentle squeeze and Ten let out a small giggle. "This is more than okay."


End file.
